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Beer-centric Earth Day events

This year, have a hoppy Earth Day

By Tom Wilmes Friday Beer Correspondent

Posted:
04/07/2012 01:00:00 AM MDT

This grilled chicken breast salad with balsamic onions, tomatoes, asparagus and fingerlings is a perfect spring combination to pair with a craft beer, and likely will be included at an April 20 Earth Day Brewmaster Dinner held at Devil s Thumb Ranch with Avery Brewing Co. (Courtesy photo /Devil s Thumb Ranch)

Chef Evan Treadwell hails from the heart of California's wine country but, since moving to Colorado less than a year ago to helm the kitchen at Devil's Thumb Ranch as executive chef, he's become increasingly influenced by the state's robust craft-beer culture.

Preparing menus to pair with both beer and wine has "long been near and dear to my heart," he says, and as the flavor profiles of craft beer continue to expand and evolve, it's freed him up to be even more creative with his pairings.

"Beers and breweries are becoming more specialized than ever before, and American palates for beer have become more adventurous," says Treadwell. "It gives chefs many more options."

Chef Treadwell will prepare a special three-course meal to pair with beers from Avery Brewing Co. for an Earth Day dinner April 20 at Devil's Thumb Ranch.

The event is part of a series of beer dinners planned throughout the year and will be served community-style at long tables in the ranch's Broad Axe Barn. Live music will round out a festive barn-dance atmosphere "in the tradition of the old Hofbräuhaus, but ranch style," says Treadwell.

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If the menu is anything like a recent beer dinner the ranch hosted with Idaho Springs-based Tommyknocker Brewery, expect that some beer will make its way into the dishes, as well. For that meal, Treadwell reduced a stout beer and included it in the frosting of a chocolate cake, which he paired with a sinfully delicious malted milkshake that was also made with the beer.

Just like balance is key when making a great beer, the same is true when coming up with food pairings.

Treadwell suggests approaching a pairing by first smelling the beer, tasting it, and then picking out specific flavor components that can be incorporated or contrasted in the dish. Balance fats with acids and bitter with sweet, for example.

Treadwell points out that the tasting notes most brewers include on the bottle or post online are a good place to start, but that there are no right or wrong answers. If it works, it works.

"That's really the fun of the whole thing," says Treadwell. "The guidelines are there, but it's all very subjective."

Founder Adam Avery's sister was researching their family's history when she came across Jacob Spears, Avery's sixth great grand uncle. Spears established a distillery in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1790, and is credited as the first distiller to label his whiskey as "bourbon" for distribution.

Avery decided to pay tribute to his pioneering distant relative with a beer. The result, Uncle Jacob's Stout, will be released Saturday in the Avery Tap Room. It joins Rumpkin, a barrel-aged pumpkin ale, in Avery's Annual Barrel Series. Rumpkin is released each fall, and Uncle Jacob's Stout is slated for an annual release each spring.

Uncle Jacob's Stout is a big, bold Imperial Stout that's been aged for six months in Maker's Mark barrels. Brewer Andy Parker incorporated dark specialty malts with caramel and toffee flavors in the base recipe to compliment the sweet, woody flavors in the bourbon.

The beer finished at a whopping 17.4 percent alcohol by volume but, like fine bourbon, is deceptively smooth and easy to drink. Sweet caramel and toffee flavors swirl through a rich and complex body with distinct low, middle and top notes that suggest bourbon without being overly dominated by it. A slight hotness in the back of the throat is the only reminder of just how big this beer is.

Some bottles may eventually make their way to local liquor stores, but your best chance at snagging one is to attend the release party Saturday. Single 12-ounce bottles will go on sale beginning at 5 p.m. and are $10 each with a 12-bottle limit per person.

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